We have seen a number of powerful smartphones that offer poor in-call quality, but fortunately, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is not one of them. Actually, the X10 is way above average with this respect and as a whole, we rate it 8/10. Our only gripe relates to the slightly muted voices, because they sound less than perfectly realistic, but everything else is great. We didn’t have any problem understanding our callers even on a single occasion, although they claimed they could hear unobtrusive environmental noise when we used the X10 while walking along a busy street.

The manufacturer claims the battery should be able to provide 8 hours of continuous talk time and keep the handset operational for 425 hours in stand-by on 3G networks. In order to achieve such a battery performance, however, you will have to switch off all social networking updates, since they drain the battery fast.Conclusion:

In terms of hardware, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is nothing short of a marvellous device. It´s as easy to notice as taking a look at its specifications and the impression is confirmed when you get it in your hand. The build quality is very good, the screen is huge and features wonderful sensitivity, you get virtually all extra features you might need, including 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS (even navigational software). The 8-megapixe camera is great for taking pictures outdoors and happens to be the best you can find on Android-based handsets today. The video capture capabilities of the device are more than satisfactory as well, even if it does not deliver HD video capture. The in-call and audio playback quality are extremely pleasing as well.

We cannot but congratulate the manufacturer on the concept behind Timescape and Mediascape. The personalization is enjoyable and Sony Ericsson has done great, pre-installing applications to add Microsoft Exchange support and make up for one of the shortcomings of the ageing Android edition. All this contributes to a contemporary smartphone of a very high quality that definitely stands out from the crowd.

Of course, the handset is not without its shortcomings as well, say, lack of landscape QWERTY layout when composing messages, missing audio player equalizer, clumsy browser etc.

Alongside of the HTC Sense, the UX interface is somewhat harder to get used to, but the learning curve is not that steep and you just need to spend some time with it to begin feeling at home. Still, there will be lots of questions like “where is the option for...” and “What happens if I press this...”. One of the issues the manufacturer does need to address is the lagging software. We are pretty sure the severe slowdowns in the operational speed of the device are software-related, because the 1GHz Snapdragon processor is extremely snappy indeed.

What other options do you have? What about the fiercest rivals of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 today?

- Google Nexus One – it is based on Android 2.1 and despite the lack of personalized interface, the device offers proper integration of social networks and eye-candies like Live Wallpapers. Its screen is smaller, but utilizes AMOLED technology and delivers impressive image quality. Moreover, the handset supports multitouch.- HTC Desire – based on the same hardware and software as the Nexus One, but runs HTC Sense that offers a number of personalization options.- HTC HD2 - if Android is not your cup of tea, but you still need a device with huge screen, this is your only option today. The handset runs Windows Mobile 6.5, but comes with all the advantages of HTC Sense.- Motorola DROID – even if less spectacular than the above mentioned cell phones (at least in terms of hardware), the device is a solid option with proper functionality. It is based on Android 2.0 (will get updated to version 2.1 soon) and sports a hardware QWERTY keyboard that may prove to be decisive for heavy texters.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is one of the best Android handsets today, but what it needs to become perfect is software update to the latest version of the operating system and a fix to resolve the several bugs and lagging issue. We hope the manufacturer responds fast in order to make its flagship device even more appealing than it currently is.

25 Comments

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I never really understand why reviewers take off points for Android phones for shipping with outdated software. This is common with most Android phones nowadays anyway. And if I'm not mistaken, this one can be upgraded.

if you shoot over to gizmodo.com you'll see they have an interview confirming that the X10 will launch in the U.S. with Android 2.1 not only this but almost all lag problems have been solved. Kinda makes you feel like allowing these websites to do preemptive reviews was quite a foolish idea since all negatives seemed to have been fixed. ****note**** it launched in japan a week or 2 ago with Android 2.1, How long ago did they mail these review units? P.S. this phones only competition seems to be the HTC Evo. I will get this over the Evo since i don't trust 4G... especially Wimax.

I have 2 Questions
Do you get the Android Market Place or we are stuck with SonyEricsson's Market place for Applications???
Does it automatically get the Picture Profile Facebook for the Address Book? or we have to manually do it?
In how much time will it take for them to switch the X10 to Android 2.1???
and there will be no Multi touch for picture or browser like Pinch to Zoom???
Please help me.I'm probably going to buy it.

this is a dreadfull phone. Touchscreen is highly unresponsive and needs cleaning after every use. cant synch with outlook express. . Camera doesnt have a flash and is very sensitive to movement. battery life is about three to four hours in standby, if you want 3g on so you can get pics messages then it will keep connecting to mobile internet and cost a fortune, qwerty keyboard is inaccurate and predictive text is really not predictive at all. And the sound quality is appaling and you cant assign mp3 as ringtones. Do not get one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

21.Kullgan (unregistered)

@ pjt, what you said about connecting and using mobile internet on its own is scary, should have an option to ask before connecting, have to check this.

I dont agree with you about not able to put mp3 as ringtone...you just have to select / play the mp3 in mediascap and press one of the 3 buttons underneath the screen...the first one, you will see 4 option including "set as ringtone". On android 2.1 though.

16.frankinsteen (unregistered)

17.Ankur Narwania (unregistered)

Apart from all the bugs it has,the worst part is this phone is coming with faulty earphones/mics.Most of the phones which are getting sold are coming up with the same problems and the fault is still not getting removed even after taking the handset to the service centres.
By this time now,sony should know this but still its not recalling its products back which clearly shows how much concern it has for its users unlike tata,toyota,honda which recalled their products.I have even submitted my complaint to their site but of no use.I would suggest every 1 to refrain from purcahsing such handset which will cost you every single penny from your pocket and still fails to provide basic utility of a phone ie clear communication which could be better handled by even a chineese handset.
Ankur Narwania
09738385489

19.Jason_south_africa (unregistered)

Got the x10 today. Not a bad phone overall, but as someone who doesn't follow phone trends I wasn't aware of some limitations in android as opposed to windows mobile. The biggest surprise for me was the apparent lack of shell integration for any filetypes other than .zip and .html

The phone appears not to be able to see anything other than those 2 file types - odd. I eventually gave up trying to browse to pics & vids I'd just taken by using the gui, seems you have to use the built in media player... Me, I like to be able to move my files, or more importantly I want to control where they're saved, and chuck a shortcut onto my desktop/home screen

qwerty functions for MMS & SMS in both landscape & portrait BUT I can't retrive contacts for either SMS or MMS when in landscape i.e. I have to rotate the phone to portrait before it'll find the contact's name I'm typing into the To: field

The killer for me of course is the qwerty itself, in either portrait or landscape flavor. when I touch "o" it's because I want "o" I don't want "r" or "space" likewise when I hit "r" I don't want the phone to give me an "enter" which is the same sometimes as a "send"

I'd also really have liked the option to turn off the frankly very useless "helpfully suggesting the word I think you're trying to type" feature which makes the text field jump up and down. It wouldn't be so bad if the word I touched on could be selected, as opposed to a different word, elsewhere in the list, I might find a use for the feature, that is of course assuming the phone could speak any of the other 11 official languages in South Africa besides english - strangely my home language and the one I use the least LOL

And why oh why in gods name would anyone put the backspace near the bottom and send near the top *shakes head* everyone's pinky knows where backspace is, why's send got to be there??

Oh well it helped me alleviate boredom at work today, but it's going back tomorrow. iphone4 maybe...?

22.Kullgan (unregistered)

You can turn off the [frankly very useless "helpfully suggesting the word I think you're trying to type" feature which makes the text field jump up and down0 :)

its quite simple, when you are typing a message..press the key between the dot and the enter key...you will get the "basic settings" just navigate downwards and turn off the "predict next work". Android 2.1 though

23.Kullgan (unregistered)

20.Kullgan (unregistered)

Well, been 3 days since i got my phone...overall im happy with it....some of the main issue for me are the battery...die too quickly but ive read that this problem can be solve easily, still have to figure out how.

Next issue is the wifi range / connectivity...my brother with his HD2 has a better range...i dont get connection when im outside on the balcony and he does, its like 10m away from my wireless netgear. Sometimes wifi even show disconnected even when in the settings netgear shows excellent status, what i have to do is switch off and on again phone or my netgear router (trying to reconnect it through settings doesnt work). My router works fine and has a good range. If i can fix these issue ill be very happy :)

24.Will fC (unregistered)

Battery life sucks!!!!!! Sony customer service sucks!!!!!!
Got my x10 within 1 year and couldn't charge the battery!! Send back to sony and they said liquid damage and can't fix!!!! Swear to god my x10 never touch any kind of liquid!! I checked via internet and I found out lots of people have the same charging problem. People can get a new one back in the US but in Canada it’s not even under warranty!!!! They want us to buy a new one!!!!!!!!
I will never buy any Sony Ericsson products in the future!! And I will not recommend this brand to anyone!!!!!!

25.Will fC (unregistered)

Battery life sucks!!!!!! Sony customer service sucks!!!!!!
Got my x10 within 1 year and couldn’t charge the battery!! Send back to sony and they said liquid damage and can’t fix!!!! Swear to god my x10 never touch any kind of liquid!!
I checked via internet and I found out lots of people have the same charging problem.
I required for photo proof and they keep avoiding my phone calls, I have been dealing with them for 2 months and talked to 5 advisors and 2 supervisors and they just keep saying ''i will call you back within 24 hrs'' but actually they never call me back!!
People can get a new one back in the US but in Canada it’s not even under warranty!!!! They want us to buy a new one!!!!!!!!
I will never buy any Sony Ericsson products in the future!! And I will not recommend this brand to anyone!!!!!!

26.Sc32 (unregistered)

To Will fC you got the battery wet I am sure of it ever been out side when it was raining? Ever had the phone in the bathroom when showering? E.t.c it is called humidity. it does not mean you sank it in the pond. So before you go ripping on Sony buy a motorola and see how that works for you I work for a major cell phone company and Sony Is the least returned phones.

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